What are some opinions you have about F1 that the majority of this forum likely doesn't agree with?

IMO, Max Verstappen is already the best driver on the grid. I reckon he would beat both Hamilton and Vettel in the same car.

I'm sure I light some fires with my opinion on Kimi. I think he is beyond one of THE most overrated driver in several generations. I think it's simply staggering how highly rated Kimi is and how there are an infinite number of excuses why he can't perform. Rave after race after race, season after season after season.

What are some opinions you have about F1 that the majority of this forum likely doesn't agree with?

IMO, Max Verstappen is already the best driver on the grid. I reckon he would beat both Hamilton and Vettel in the same car.

Wow! Great example lol.

I am of the opinion that there is a massive chasm in ability/talent between modern F1 drivers by comparison to drivers from the golden age (prior to the 70s-80s). Been following the sport since the 80s and I think today's drivers are on a different planet from the likes of Fangio and Moss but some of the real old-timers will tear you a new one for saying that lol.

What are some opinions you have about F1 that the majority of this forum likely doesn't agree with?

IMO, Max Verstappen is already the best driver on the grid. I reckon he would beat both Hamilton and Vettel in the same car.

Wow! Great example lol.

I am of the opinion that there is a massive chasm in ability/talent between modern F1 drivers by comparison to drivers from the golden age (prior to the 70s-80s). Been following the sport since the 80s and I think today's drivers are on a different planet from the likes of Fangio and Moss but some of the real old-timers will tear you a new one for saying that lol.

That's true for the vast majority of sports. It's all about context and what was known/possible at the time

That's an interesting one. Senna was certainly on the back foot leading up to his untimely demise but Hill did get up to genuine competitiveness with Schuey (notwithstanding all the technical shenanigans going on). I'd argue that Senna would have had a genuine shout, the longer the season went on.

OK, here's one. Jenson Button was not a great wet-weather driver. He had a fantastic feel for changing conditions but, when fully wet? Shown up by Rubens at Silverstone 2008, had a 'mare in Korea 2010, awful first half at Canada 2011 (which, to be fair, made the conclusion all the more spectacular!). Fully wet, little grip, sorry Jenson...

I personally think we just can't consider Verstappen as the best on the grid when he's had so many retirements and we've missed what he may have done. (or what may have turned out to be a poor drive) But the fact it, we haven't seen loads of it. He's had too little track time for me to consider him to be better then Ricciardo overall. Verstappen this year also made a very costly mistake for his team by taking out his team mate so that would already make me think he wasn't the best driver on the grid. He may have been very good at most points we've seen him, but in the race that is what counts, I think there are several drivers who are better than him who have had more track time to prove it.

Alonso is just as quick over 1 lap as his rivals.Ricciardo has been the best driver of the Turbo era up until this year.All drivers crave No.1 status.

_________________"Clark came through at the end of the first lap so far ahead that we in the pits were convinced that the rest of the field must have been wiped out in an accident."-Eddie Dennis, describing the dominance of Jim Clark in the Lotus 49 at Spa 1967

The pitstop speed limit punish the driver too much so they don't gamble on an extra stop for fresh tyres. While i dont agree in getting rid of it, i do think it should be no less than 70 mph.

Safety is being pushed far too much. F1 is supposed to have an element of risk. Tracks now have too much run off areas and dont punish those who run out of skill and dont reward those who push it too the very limit.

Safety cars are out far too long for no reason what so ever.

Massa is by far the most overrated driver on the grid. He was only retained by Ferrari because of the accident and they didnt want the press onslaught if they dropped him.

What are some opinions you have about F1 that the majority of this forum likely doesn't agree with?

IMO, Max Verstappen is already the best driver on the grid. I reckon he would beat both Hamilton and Vettel in the same car.

Wow! Great example lol.

I am of the opinion that there is a massive chasm in ability/talent between modern F1 drivers by comparison to drivers from the golden age (prior to the 70s-80s). Been following the sport since the 80s and I think today's drivers are on a different planet from the likes of Fangio and Moss but some of the real old-timers will tear you a new one for saying that lol.

That's true for the vast majority of sports. It's all about context and what was known/possible at the time

I also wonder ho many of these'wonderful' outside moves etc would have taken place if the driver thought there was more than a o.oo1% chance of them being hurt? 'Ah I have never seen a car passed there before' probably beans previous drivers thought it too risky rather than they could not do it

For instance, the Force India cars this week. A driver would never have squeezed another like that if it was possible or probable both would be off to the medical centre.

Great idea for a thread, let's see how long it can go without turning into a flame war!

* F1 cars should have canopies.

* Overtaking is overrated.

* Social Media is a waste of time and energy.

* Alonso would be leading the WDC if he was in the Mercedes.

* I like the V6 Hybrid engine.

Have to say I agree with some of these. I'm not sure what way you mean overtaking is overrated though. Do you mean people get overexcited about what they think was an incredible pass when it was actually very simple? I often agree with this. Or, do you mean overtaking is overrated meaning that it isn't that bigger deal that there is a lack of it? I'm not bothered that there is less of it either actually.

Social media is a waste of time IMO during the race. It meant that people are not paying attention to what is on screen during the race while they are on the social media unless their eyes can focus of 2 separate things at the same time. I also think that this year, a few to many things are on social media related stuff that it feels like less is actually getting talked about on the actual coverage. The drivers such as Hamilton in the press conferences get way too distracted by this stuff also!!

I also like the V6 Hybrid engine. As I never have been to a GP, I have never really heard how loud the cars actually are. But I actually much perfer the deeper, more grumbly sound that they now make. That scream that they used to make was a bit annoying sometimes. This will be an unpopular opinion!

Alonso is a good driver but he is overrated.Hamilton's life is run by his strong complexes.Verstappen is not the next superstar.Vettel is the funniest driver on the grid.Speed limit in pit area is an unnecessary thing and a total joke.With current technology and transport, and all the money involved, there should be 25 races a year.Vettel is the funniest driver on the grid.Jochen Mass is 100% guilty for the death of Gilles Villeneuve.Ecclestone sacrificed Brabham's (Lauda) 1978 WDC title by derailing completely legal fan car for personal gain with FIA, which eventually paid off to him.Jabouille was one of the best drivers of his era, prior to his 1980 crash.Nelson Piquet 1981 title was achieved with illegal car.

I suppose defending Kimi when he has a bad tyre day is not very popular after a while as I suppose others think he should have adapted by now after so many years of Pirellis but every year they find a different way to confuse the teams having now gone from cheese to concrete tyres in a year or so .

Defending Vettel's 2014 season was not popular at the time but future events have shown that give him a car he's totally at ease with he can still drive like the wind.

As to what others have said ...

Verstappen you can make a good case for being the fastest especially in the wet but his driving racecraft is still subpar and impulsive and impetuous. Ricciardo is a much better racer against other drivers as he is more precise and much less likely to crash. I could go along with the theory he has been the best overall driver of the turbo era.

I actually think old time drivers were better as the cars were more primitive, harder to drive and had less driver and safety aids.

I thought at the time Senna was not going to win 1994 as he was going to incredible overdriving lengths to keep up with Schumacher in his dodgy Benetton. However I think 3 drivers now stand out in f1 history for sheer blistering speed and Senna was one of them with the other two being Clark and Hamilton. Which is why I can't go along with the theory that Schumacher was the GOAT and I think his time against Rosberg confirmed that for me.

Kyvat is clearly the worst driver of the red bull stable and should not have even been retained for this year as I thought at the time last year that it would be a waste of a young driver seat for this year and so it has proven.

What are some opinions you have about F1 that the majority of this forum likely doesn't agree with?

IMO, Max Verstappen is already the best driver on the grid. I reckon he would beat both Hamilton and Vettel in the same car.

Wow! Great example lol.

I am of the opinion that there is a massive chasm in ability/talent between modern F1 drivers by comparison to drivers from the golden age (prior to the 70s-80s). Been following the sport since the 80s and I think today's drivers are on a different planet from the likes of Fangio and Moss but some of the real old-timers will tear you a new one for saying that lol.

That's true for the vast majority of sports. It's all about context and what was known/possible at the time

I also wonder ho many of these'wonderful' outside moves etc would have taken place if the driver thought there was more than a o.oo1% chance of them being hurt? 'Ah I have never seen a car passed there before' probably beans previous drivers thought it too risky rather than they could not do it

For instance, the Force India cars this week. A driver would never have squeezed another like that if it was possible or probable both would be off to the medical centre.

I love the fact that mine seems to be the only one that people can't leave alone. I thought we were in a safe zone in this thread lol.

What are some opinions you have about F1 that the majority of this forum likely doesn't agree with?

IMO, Max Verstappen is already the best driver on the grid. I reckon he would beat both Hamilton and Vettel in the same car.

Wow! Great example lol.

I am of the opinion that there is a massive chasm in ability/talent between modern F1 drivers by comparison to drivers from the golden age (prior to the 70s-80s). Been following the sport since the 80s and I think today's drivers are on a different planet from the likes of Fangio and Moss but some of the real old-timers will tear you a new one for saying that lol.

That's true for the vast majority of sports. It's all about context and what was known/possible at the time

I also wonder ho many of these'wonderful' outside moves etc would have taken place if the driver thought there was more than a o.oo1% chance of them being hurt? 'Ah I have never seen a car passed there before' probably beans previous drivers thought it too risky rather than they could not do it

For instance, the Force India cars this week. A driver would never have squeezed another like that if it was possible or probable both would be off to the medical centre.

I love the fact that mine seems to be the only one that people can't leave alone. I thought we were in a safe zone in this thread lol.

I am a real "old timer", started following F1 in 1950 & attended my first live motor sport event in 1949 but have no intentions of tearing a new one for anyone. However I do believe it is impossible to compare drivers from different eras. I do believe that if the greats of the past from any era were being born into today's environment they would be right up there with the current greats.

See my signature.

_________________Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them - a desire, a dream, a vision. They have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have the skill & the will but the will must be stronger than the skill. Muhammad Ali

* Driver performance varies from year to year as drivers are human and have things other than F1 going on in their life.* Drivers having a life outside of F1 is acceptable if they are meeting the teams expectations, I don't expect every driver to be obsessed with it 24/7. I also don't think being obsessed with it 24/7 is the best approach for some drivers.* Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso aren't separated by enough to waste time arguing about who is better.* Teams should have to use all three tyre compounds in a race.

Exediron wrote:

* Social Media is a waste of time and energy.

. Im not sure what context you meant this in but I generally agree that its a waste of time in all contexts.

Verstappen has battered qualifying specialist Ricciardo this season. The score is 8-4 right now and Max just beat Dan by half a second at Spa.

Hamilton is beating Bottas in qualifying too, but only 7-5. In other words, Verstappen is more convincing than Hamilton in qualifying against a better teammate.

In terms of race craft, race pace and wet weather driving Verstappen is as good as anyone else. In fact, I think his racecraft is better than Hamilton these days. Lewis isn't as aggressive as he used to be.

Verstappen's retirements (not his fault) are doing a good job hiding just how good he's been this season.

Verstappen has battered qualifying specialist Ricciardo this season. The score is 8-4 right now and Max just beat Dan by half a second at Spa.

I think the only part of this that might have reason to be unpopular is calling Ricciardo a "qualifying specialist".

The facts:

Dan has only a single pole positionDan usually performs better in races than in qualifying.

I think the perception comes from 2014 when Dan outqualified Vettel on a regular basis. He's a good qualifier, but his race craft and consistency outshines it IMO.

Verstappen on the other hand, I think has great speed over a lap, but his race craft and consistency suffer.

It's actually from his Toro Rosso days, when the perception was that he out-qualified Vergne more often than he outraced him. Against Vettel, he was actually far less dominant in qualifying (12-7, I believe) compared to the races (12-3, if I recall).

The pole position stat is pretty pointless, though. No other driver has ever set a pole position while Ricciardo's teammate, so the fact that he only has one doesn't prove much. It's still one more than Max has.

i would rather stand in a field a mile from the circuit, in the rain, naked, and listen to a v10 at 20k rpm then stand next to the track and experience these gutless atrocities.

I was at Spa last weekend and was actually surprised by how loud these engines were. I was expecting them to be much more muted but they were essentially louder versions of the GP2 cars. But at one point a couple of older generation cars went around the track and the noise that they made was spine-tingling and you could hear them no matter where they were on the circuit. Even my 19 year old daughter, who was with me but has no interest in F1, turned to me with a smile on her face and said "wow!" You could feel it throughout your body.

So, while I don't think that the noise these engines make is the death of F1, there's definitely something special about the old V8s and V10s that is very hard to put into words. It's visceral